Retainer for railroad-spikes.



E. B. JARVIS. RETAINER FOR RAILROAD SPIKES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.31,1913 1,088 023, Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

umran STATES PATENT caries.

EDGAR BEAUMONT JARVIS, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR- OF ONE-HALF TO PAUL JARVIS, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

RETAINER FOR RAILROAD-SPIKES.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDGAR BEAUMONT JARvIs, of the city of Toronto, county of York, Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retainers for Railroad-Spikes, as described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, that form part of the same.

The objects of the present invention are, to obviate the withdrawal of the railway spikes from proper engagement with the rails thereby reducing to a very great extent the possibility of accidents through the spreading of the rails and to provide a device of simple and cheap construction which will effectively hold the spike in its proper place in relation to the rails and will also to a large extent obviate the cutting of the rails into the tie and may be easily and quickly applied.

The principal feature of this invention consists in the novel formation of a plate member adapted to be inserted beneath the rail base and a fastening member adapted to be secured in place by said plate and extending over the head of the spike to prevent its accidental withdrawal.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a rail and tie illustrating the application of my spike retainer. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a tie plate adapted to have spikes inserted therethrough at each side of the rail and illustrating the manner of placing the spike holders, a portion of the rail being shown in section and broken away. Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of my retainer member adapted to be inserted in the holding plate. Fig. l is an enlarged perspective View of the holding member illustrating the shape to which it is bent, after the spike is inserted. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the rail and tie showing the use of my invention with a slightly modified form of tie plate. Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the application of my lnvention to a further modified type.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a plate adapted to be inserted beneath the rail and having a rectangular shaped hole 2 therein adjacent to one end. The width of said hole Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 31, 1913.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914. Serial No. 757,896.

being sufiicient to allow an ordinary spike to be inserted thcrethrough and the length of the hole being sufficiently long to allow the insertion of the steel strip 3 as well as the shank of the spike. The strip 3 is formed of a length of narrow steel bar bent in an acute angle to form a foot portion 4; and a stem portion 5. The stem portion 5 is inserted through the hole 2 in the plate 1 before the plate is inserted beneath the rail and the plate is then placed in its proper position so that when the spike 6 is inserted through the hole 2 between the rail flange and the strip 3, the head of the said spike 6 engages the upper surface of said flange. W hen the spike is thus driven home the stem of the strip 3 is bent up against the shank and over the head of the spike. When the strip is thus placed in position it will be impossible for the spike to move to any extent from engagement with the flange of the rail. The upper extremity of the retaining member 3 is by preference not bent tightly down upon the head of the spike as it is desirable to allow a certain latitude of movement between the spike and rail owing to operating conditions of traffic.

In Fig. 2 I show a slight modification of the form of plate. In this form the plate is sufficiently wide to cover the top of the tie and extends to each side of the rail having the holes 2 therein preferably staggered.

In the form shown in Fig. 5 a. narrow diagonal shaped strip of plate is used and is perforated with a pair of holes one at each side of the rail base and these are arranged in staggered relation the one to the other.

In Fig. 6 I show a further modification in which the plate is formed with a longitudinal slot extending from one end to a point close to the other end. This form of plate is particularly adaptable for use in places where it is desired not to remove the spike. In such cases the bifurcated plate is placed with its divided ends one each side of the spike and it is then driven under the rail base, the strip 3 being hooked into the closed end of the slot previous to its insertion. When the plate is driven up tight the opposite ends which project beyond the opposite side of the rail are preferably bent upwardly to clamp the rail base and the retainer strip 3 is then bent over the head of the spike.

The simplicity of this invention will be readily apparent and as the strips 3 and in fact some forms of the plates can be formed up out of scrap material the cost of same Will be very slight.

It will be readily seen that with acdevice having single spikes is very marked, the

result with plates having spikes arranged at each side of the rail is extremely better as the plate cannot then shift in relation to the rail and the spikes are practically speaking firmly secured in an irremovable position to the rails. Further, with the arrangement of retainer described the rails are free to extend and contract longitudinally according to the changes in temperature without in anyway injuring the ties or the hold of the spikes.

- Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. In a railway spike retainer, the combination with a plate adapted to be inserted j under the rail base havinga hole adapted to receive the spike, ot' a fastening member adapted to be inserted in the hole in the plate and to extend thereunder, the upper end thereof being adapted to be bent over the head of the spike.

2. In a railway spike retainer, the combination with a plate adapted to be inserted under the rail base having a rectangular shaped hole therein adapted to receive the spike, of a narrow strip of metal having one end bent to form a foot and adapted to be inserted in said hole prior to the placing of the spike, the foot portion extending under the plate in an outward direction and the upwardly extending end being adapted to be bent over the head of the spike.

3. In a railway spike retainer, the combination with a plate adapted to be inserted under the rail base having a pair of holes therein arranged one at each side of the rail and in staggered relation, and fastening strips of metal adapted to be inserted in said holes and arranged at the outer sides of the spikes each having foot portions extending under the plate and upwardly extending ends adapted to be bent over the splkes.

Dated at Toronto this 26th day of March,

EDGAR BEAUMONT JARVIS. Signed in the presence of A. CAMPBELL, E. P. HALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents.

a Washington, D. C. 

